Whether you favour tea, coffee or maybe a combination of the two (although not at the same time or in the same cup), a supply of hot water is essential to satisfy your choice of beverage.  One possible solution to supplying this hot water could be the Rowenta Prelude.  This stainless steel kettle has a capacity of 1.7 litres. Its description as a cordless kettle does raise the question of how the water is heated if there is no cord to connect to a power source.

Based in , O&O Software has been in the business of developing tools for use with Windows since 1997.  Sold in over 50 countries, these tools cover various aspects of Windows operating system including cache management and the use of memory with its O&O CleverCache product which is now up to version 6.

During my time working at the chalk-face, admittedly several years ago, the prospect of one computer per child was considered little more than a pipe-dream.  The allocation of a school's computing resources, especially in a multi-storey building, was one computer per floor.

This week the spotlight falls on Disney Interactive Studios, the interactive entertainment affiliate of the Walt Disney Company, with its range of multi-platform video games and entertainment products for the young and young at heart.

Like going to the dentist, making a back-up of your valuable data is often a task that is put off until a later date or perhaps forgotten about altogether.  Even knowing that the results could have dire consequences seems to make no difference as many feel that disaster would never happen to them so why take the time and trouble to perform a backup.

Recently I had the electric lighting system in my home rewired.  The positioning of some lights, which I am still adjusting to, was moved while, in a couple of cases, cord-pulled switches replaced other types of on/off methods.  One innovative technology that I did not consider as part of the rewiring process was the use of hand movements to control various lighting conditions.

I first came across and wrote about DriveSentry last year ( ).  In the intervening period, the company has been busy developing a new product which is currently available exclusively from the PC World chain of stores.  This product is DriveSentry GoAnywhere. It has been developed to safeguard removable devices from the one million plus Internet viruses that have been identified by computer experts.

Companies are already well up to speed with their Christmas push of a range of offerings aimed at tempting us to part with our disposal income.  Increasingly I am being asked (coincidentally the writing of this sentence was interrupted by a phone call from a PR agency attempting to make a pitch on behalf of one of its clients Christmas plans) what my plans are for Christmas features.

Webcams tend to come in various shapes and sizes, often depending upon the whim of a design team.  In the past I have worked with webcams that resemble a large eyeball, a cylindrical tube, and even an Egyptian-style statue.  The latest webcam to emerge from Microsoft hardware department, the LifeCam VX-7000, reminds me of a metallic name badge, especially when viewed from front on, worn by company representatives.

Needs must when it comes to reviewing a product and so I took the Tefal AQUASPEED Ultracord 260 product in hand and prepared myself to work through a pile of clothes, bedding and the like that were crying out for a session with this new iron.  Almost futuristic in appearance, this purple and cream iron comes with a permanently attached wide base (135 x 145cm) that incorporates an anti-slip feature to help secure the iron when in an upright position.

Measuring 104 x 47 x 15mm and weighing 95g, the Sony Ericsson K660i candy bar style phone is predominately black in colour with silver trims around the edges and a wine coloured bar highlighting the non-keypad controls.  If this colour scheme does not appeal then the phone is also available with a lime bar on white. Situated above this bar is the handset's 2.0-inch TFT QVGA screen capable of displaying 260K colours.  For general use this screen will default to portrait mode.

The Millbank Tower, on the south bank of the Thames, provides a panoramic view of the London landscape. It is also a popular location for companies wishing to show off their new wares. A recent example of this was Casio using this location to present its new EXILIM compact digital camera models along with several watches that included a couple of models belonging to the EDIFACE and PRO TREK families. The occasion was also used to make the 25 anniversary of the original Casio G-SHOCK timepiece.

The Video Transfer solution can take content direct from a video source and transfer it to a range of USB enabled devices.

Whether it is breakfast, mid-morning or a late-evening snack, the thought of poached egg on toast can cause the gastric juices to begin flowing - at least that is probably the reasoning behind a new product from Tefal.  The product, as you might have guessed if you had read my earlier report, is the Tefal Toast n' Egg.  Tefal has taken a two slice toaster and attached a basic food preparer to one end.

Let me start with a thank-you directed towards the technical support guy at Yoggie who was invaluable in getting this next product up and running on my system. The product in question is Yoggie Gatekeeper Pico which has been developed to provide, what is described as, Pentagon level protection when venturing out on to the Internet. But before going into more detail about the product, let me deal with the initially installation problems I encountered on two different computers.

While most companies involved in the development of graphics software tend to concentrate on a traditional approach to market their wares, even though they might also have a web-based store, Xara is an exception in that the company adopts a total web orientated strategy. If you want to purchase a Xara product, such as the company's Xtreme Pro 4.

Recently I have been spending some time interacting with a character called Bob. I hasten to add that this particular Bob is not a re-incarnation of the Microsoft Bob originally launched back in 1995. Rather than Microsoft's failed attempt to persuade users to accept a different desktop, complete with a big yellow smiley face, for the then current Windows 3.

Although web cams were originally developed, and sold as devices for, video conferencing purposes, they were quickly taken up by consumers for more general videoing activities.  As a result, extra features, such as face decorating software and avatar personas, were often included as a standard part of the package.

Adopting a black and matt silver colour scheme, the Microsoft Wireless Notebook Laser Mouse 7000 is larger than you might normally expect for use with a notebook.  However this increase in size is hardly excessive.  The mouse measures 10.2 x 8.5cm (L x W) and fits comfortably in the hand. You could easily use this mouse as your main desktop pointing device.

What do you do while waiting for one of today's large applications to install itself?  This question sprang to mind recently while I waited for a Corel product to complete its installation process.  I found myself reminiscing about the time when the company set about encouraging the uptake of CD media by offering the current version of its graphics software at a cheaper price if you purchased the CD rather than floppy version.

PDF Converter Professional 5 sets out to allow the user to create and edit files using the ubiquitous Adobe PDF standard that dominates the electronic document market plus take a PDF file and convert it into a range of other popular common text file formats. As is standard practice with Nuance products (and it has to be said those from several other companies as well), you will need to enter a product serial number. In this case it consists of 16 characters.

continues to hold a fascination with the developers of computer games.  I have lost count of the number of titles that are based on this particular geographical location.  With its various stories and legends concerning Pharaohs, gods and other supernatural forces that excite our imagination, what more could you want.  The latest such offering to find its way on to my desktop is Ashley Jones - The Heart of Egypt.

click to enlarge Opening the box reveals the camera unit; Lithium-ion rechargeable battery; battery charger with power lead; 1GB SD card; and leads for USB and AV connectivity. You also get a wrist strap, Quick Start sheet and software CD containing an electronic version of the User Guide plus ArcSoft PhotoImpression.

As I descended the numerous flights of stairs to this underground location, I couldn't help but hope that maybe one of the new gadgets would be available to help me climb the stairs on my return journey.  Unfortunately it was not to be but there were several other goodies that will tempt you to part with your cash in the forthcoming months.

As we have come to expect with Terratec products, opening the box reveals a collection of items.  Foremost, although rather small in size, is the USB tuner stick which is predominately white in colour with the letters "XXS" overlaid in orange.  Centrally positioned on the tuner is a small light which glows to indicate the device is receiving power and doubles as the infrared link for use with a remote control.

Put together the names of Van Helsing and Brad Stoker in the same sentence could only result in the main subject matter being that of Dracula.  In this case Dracula is the central character in a game developed by Frogware Studios.  Entitled Dracula: Origin, this is a point and click adventure game that places the user in the role of Van Helsing as he searches for that walking one-way blood bank known as the Prince of Darkness.

The tasks covered by multi-function devices continue to expand into new areas.  A recent example of this can be seen with a new digital photo frame from Polaroid.  Not content to displaying favourite photos, this device, with the less than memorable designation of XSU-00770B, brings together a 7-inch digital photo frame combined with current weather information.

Skypephone S2 Nokia E71 click image to enlarge Obviously believing that this fear of having no mobile connectivity should be consigned to yesterday's dustbin, the mobile media company 3 has promised a number of new products and initiatives that will be relieve this complaint.

The latest example of keyboard and mouse to come under my finger-tip control is the Kensington Ci70 Wireless Desktop Set which combines innovative stylish aspects with a mouse docking feature. The marketing people at Kensington have put some thought into the packaging design for this desktop set. By using a Perspex top to the packaging, the user is able to see both the keyboard and mouse laid out as if ready for use.

When it comes to creating an investigative adventure computer game, where better to start than with the doyen of detectives, that redoubtable resident of 221B Baker Street, known as Sherlock Holmes.  Taking this premise, and adding in Arsne Lupin a French gentleman thief who features in a series of novels by Maurice Leblance, the developers Frogwares has come up with Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis.